RIP, Elijah. Murdered by cops August 30, 2019

Thanks for posting about this I never learned all of the details that came out after the incident happened. I will remember my enemies have no mercy for even the gentlest souls and try to become harder.

i woulda been friends with him if they hadn't murdered him

I don't have any context for this so that speech just sounded bizarre tbh.
- Literally his last words as he was held down on the ground by armed criminals before they called another criminal to injected him with a lethal cocktail of drugs.
  Do you understand the concept of "last words"?
  
  Not very helpful answer tbh.

The paramedics injected him with Ketamine. I'm a paramedic. I initially felt that the crew had done what they were supposed to do, but after the details came out in court, it is clear to me that they neglected important duties as healthcare providers. They should be (and were) held accountable, and the fact that the whole damn system of cops being able to request Ketamine didn't get its legs blown off after this is a miscarriage of justice.
- this is simply an extension of how y'all treat Neuro divergent people in hospitals and psych wards. I assume the fact that it happened in the open made people outraged compared to when it happens behind closed doors
  
  I'm neurodivergent, too. I know what you're talking about. I've seen how people get treated in hospitals and psych wards. I've seen some really nasty behavior from other paramedics. We're sadly not a bunch of paladins; we've got a lot of washed up cop wannabes in our ranks for starters. There's a lot to unpack here, and it's deserving of criticism, but I don't think I agree that's what happened to Elijah.
  
  What a bullshit inflammatory comment.
- As a Brit, hearing the disgusting way American law enforcement treats people is genuinely something I would only expect of 3rd world countries.
  
  I once heard a German call the US their favorite third world country, and that has never left me.
  
  From a 3rd world country and visited several others. We are not savages.
- What does ketamine even do?
  
  Idk, tbh, probably something to do with magnets.
  Edit: I thought this was a further down comment chain asking for pharmacokinetics details, which I haven't bothered learning for Ketamine as it's not relevant to me yet. Ketamine is a sedative drug, so it's used to basically zonk people out.
  
  Basically just spaces you out and roots you in place. It can be fun at home, not with murderous cops.
- How often is ketamine used? Isn't there other better alternatives? I'm curious since from what I understand, K holing is really not enjoyable and it seems like quite an extreme sedative, almost bordering on torture. How often do paramedics use it over a year?
  Just in case my tone comes off as accusatory, I'm genuinely curious. Thank you for doing such a tough job, I know it isn't easy.
  
  Well, it's come into much more wide usage over the last five years as a non-opioid alternative for pain management and non-benzo sedative. For stuff like burns, I understand that it's much more effective than opiates for pain management. As for how extreme it is, I suspect that that's dose dependent. I've never administered it, as my service doesn't carry it. Generally, EMS Medical Directors are overly conservative (imo) and usually won't put stuff that's SUPER dangerous out in the field, so I'd be pretty surprised if that were the case here. That is, we absolutely carry stuff that can kill you if we fuck up, but it's usually stuff where it would have to be a pretty significant fuck up (as these guys did here), not "whoops I got the dose wrong by 0.001 mg"

The image only shows a portion of his last words, complete audio transcript from the police body cameras:
"I can't breathe. I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain. That's my house. I was just going home. I'm an introvert. I'm just different. That's all. I'm so sorry. I have no gun. I don't do that stuff. I don't do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don't even kill flies! I don't eat meat! But I don't judge people, I don't judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity, I'll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I'm a mood Gemini. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Ow, that really hurt! You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work."
After he was forced to vomit, he added: "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to do that. I just can't breathe correctly."
These words paint an even more heartbreaking picture of his gentle nature - apologizing for being sick while being restrained, expressing love even in his final moments, and maintaining his compassion until the end. The body camera footage preserves his complete final statement, showing his remarkable character even in such a traumatic situation.
- Did Americans kill Fluttershy?
- This is just heartbreaking. It hurts me when someone gets killed and it turns out they weren’t exactly A+ material, but I grew up around people like that and experienced the world that made them firsthand so I empathize with them.
  This dude though, this just crushes me.

How was he injected with ketamine?
- Syringe by paramedic, urged by police who didn’t like that he was struggling against an illegal search.
  
  Illegal searches tend to include violent restraint as well, because cops love to call someone that falls over when shoved 'resisting arrest'.
  
  Damn, paramedics are pigs too?
- Paramedics came and gave him more then a therapeutic dose to sedate him.
  
  Why was he sedated with ketamine? Surely, there are better options?
  
  Are paramedics allowed to do that?